Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 28 : Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was aimed at favouring the BJP and keeping the opposition out of electoral contests, claiming that nearly one crore voters had been left out of the process.
Kharge alleged that the exercise had raised concerns in West Bengal, Bihar and Karnataka, and said the state government would examine the exclusion of voters and the alleged bulk printing of Form 7 applications.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “The SIR is a process to favour the BJP. It is very—it was very evident in West Bengal, it was very evident in Bihar, and it's becoming increasingly evident even in my state of Karnataka. One crore people have been left out, and the pre-printing of Form 7... forms in bulk, that has also proved that you are trying to keep certain sections of society outside. After an SIR, you are coming up with Form 7, which means you're actually purifying an SIR voter list. So, whatever it is, we will evaluate the one crore vote—voters, and we'll see what has happened, how it has happened, and we will expose these people. SIR is an activity to ensure that the opposition is not in contention at all.”
Responding to a question on whether there was a conspiracy behind the alleged irregularities, Kharge claimed that complaints concerning Form 7 applications had already been filed in Chittapur and referred to an earlier case in Aland.
He said, “Absolutely, there is a conspiracy. We have proved it. In Chittapur itself, 40 people... the Form 7, 40 Form 7s that have been given are bogus. The ARO and ERO have given a complaint. It is not given by some individuals; it's given by Returning Officers. As I said, we will expose. We have to expose. Didn't we expose this in Aland? Vote chori of Form 7 in Aland. Out of 6,018 forms, 5,994 forms were fake! We have already said that a 22,000-page charge sheet has already been filed. What more needs to be exposed? We have taken them to court; the trial will start now.”
On the issue of designated protest sites, Kharge said the government was considering suggestions from activists to de-notify additional locations in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka to facilitate demonstrations while protecting the rights of other citizens.
Kharge said, “We met some, a few people, activists who are suggesting that more places need to be de-notified within Bangalore and across the state so that protests happen in a...The right to protest is not curbed. And we are looking at it, because since there is a... There has been an affidavit filed in the High Court by all parties, including civil rights activists. So, we'll be looking at that and seeing whether it is possible to de-notify more places for protests. Having said this, I'd like to put on record that the government is not interested in curbing citizens' rights. But while we are ensuring that people get their rights also, the other citizens who aren't protesting also have certain rights, that also should be taken care of. So, it's a very thin line, and we'll do the balancing act.”
The remarks came as Karnataka's final electoral roll was published on Tuesday following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with the state's electorate declining from 5.54 crore before the exercise to around 4.55 crore.
According to data from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, the final roll comprises 2.26 crore male electors, 2.29 crore female electors and 2,841 third-gender electors.
The roll also includes 6.83 lakh young electors in the 18-19 age group and 3.92 lakh electors aged 85 years and above.
The final electorate represents a decline of approximately 17.92 per cent from the pre-revision count. The draft electoral roll, published on August 24, recorded 4.46 crore general electors, marking a reduction of 1.08 crore from the 5.54 crore electors recorded before the revision exercise.
Kharge also commented on the outcome of the Teachers' Constituency election, acknowledging that the result had not met expectations but maintaining that it did not reflect the performance of the state government.
“It is not as per expectation. But it's a democratic system, and if the people have chosen, so be it. There will be lessons learned, and we'll be pulling up our socks. But this is not a reflection of the performance of the government, because it's a very, very close-knit group that votes for the Teachers' Constituency. And generally, the people who contest are either from the... are in the... are from the same background. So, I don't think it's a mandate on the performance of the government, but yes, there are lessons to be learned.”
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Legislative Council, JD(S)-BJP alliance candidate AP Ranganath won the Bengaluru Teachers Constituency, defeating Congress candidate and former Legislative Council member Puttanna.
The election was held on October 23, and counting was held on Tuesday. In the teachers constituency, there was a direct contest between Congress and the JD(S)-BJP alliance.
Puttanna has won several times from the same constituency. In the by-election held in 2024, as the Congress candidate, he had defeated JDS candidate AP Ranganath. This time, in the same constituency, the result stood reversed.
In this election, BJP and JDS formed an alliance and contested in four constituencies. Bengaluru Teachers Constituency was left to JDS. Transfer of votes of BJP workers and supporters to the JDS candidate was the main challenge for the alliance.
Ranganath's victory has brought to the fore the importance of election coordination of alliance parties in this constituency.